Meanings
comparative more sententiously · superlative most sententiously · alternative sentenciously
- In a sententious manner, concisely, pithily.
"We shall see to-morrow," said the doctor. "We shall," replied Lady Anne, very sententiously.
1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter LXI, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 1552 more examples
"It 's an ill wind dat blows nowhar, — dat ar a fact," said Sam, sententiously, giving an additional hoist to his pantaloons, and adroitly substituting a long nail in place of a missing suspender-button, with which effort of mechanical genius he seemed highly delighted.
1851 June – 1852 April, Harriet Beecher Stowe, chapter 6, in Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life among the Lowly, volume I, Boston, Mass.: John P[unchard] Jewett & Company; Cleveland, Oh.: Jewett, Proctor & Worthington, published 20 March 1852, →OCLC, page 70He became very cool and collected all at once. ‘I am not such a fool as I look, quoth Plato to his disciples,’ he said sententiously, emptied his glass with great resolution, and we rose.
1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 201
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbin a pithy sententious manner
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Catalan sentenciosament
- sentenciosamentin a sententious manner
French sentencieusement
- sentencieusementin a sententious manner
Spanish sentenciosamente
- sentenciosamentein a sententious manner
Cite this entry
sententiously. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sententiously
“sententiously.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sententiously. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sententiously,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sententiously.
Source: sententiously on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.